


Beyond The Tree Line

by ADyingFlower



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Reality, Chains, Changelings, Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Chronic Illness, First Love, Forests, Ghosts, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Growing Up, Have fun spotting them out, Human Sacrifice, Human Toothless, Kid Fic, Locked In, Lockets, Loneliness, M/M, Mentions of a bazillions other fandoms, Overprotective, Past Character Death, Royalty, Seizures, Spells & Enchantments, Terminal Illnesses, The Fae, human!Toothless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2014-07-30
Packaged: 2018-01-13 07:45:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1218139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADyingFlower/pseuds/ADyingFlower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hiccup Was Ill.<br/>Well, That was what the Healers told Stoick. They said he was ill for quite some time, that he should have noticed something. But he hasn't. He hasn't even touched the boy that looks so much like his mother in years.</p>
<p>But now he pays the price. The only way to save Hiccup's life is to give him to the king of the forest, the Night Fury, even if it means that he'll never see Hiccup again.</p>
<p>No one ever thought that the savage animal that ruled the forest could have a soft spot for the boy with shining green eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where's Hiccup?

**Author's Note:**

> Let's just say I'm a bit of a sadist.

"Where's Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked Stoick. Stoick searched around shortly before shaking his head. Stop thinking of a green eyed woman, Stoick, get a better handle on your self.

"He's not with you?" Stoick knelled down next to the eight year old boy. Fishlegs was never one of his favorites but the way he acted with an excited bounce in his steps reminded him too much of Valhallarama. It's been years since she was gone but the pain was still fresh and deep.

They said time heals all wounds. It's been years and yet this wound is still as new as the day it was given.

Fishlegs was a friend of Hiccup's.....Isn't he? Stoick wasn't so sure, he didn't talk to his son all that often. It hurt too much.

If only Hiccup looked more like him, it wouldn't pain his heart this much. He was almost a copy of Valhallarama by how much he looked like her.

Fishlegs shook his head. Stoick gave the little boy a word of gratitude before sending him off to do whatever little boys do. Stoick brushed off the snow on his cloak before clambering around to look for his son.

It took him a total of over an hour and a half and he was about to give up and gather a search party when he found him behind the Hofferson's barn.

Stoick ran out of there as fast as possible screaming for the healers.

~  
Hiccup was ill.

That was what the healers told Stoick. He's been ill for quite some time. He should have noticed something.

But he didn't.

For what he saw that day truly scared. Mind you Stoick the Vast was never easily scared. 

For behind the Hofferson's barn he saw his own son convulsing in his own pool of blood. 

His teachers told him that Hiccup hands were too unsteady to hold chalk. Gobbler says the boy never holds down his food. 

He's been sick for a long time, and Stoick never noticed a thing.

And he was going to die for his own foolish ignorance.

"I'm sorry Stoick." The healer said, washing his hands in the bucket next to the house. Washing his hands free from Hiccup's blood. "This sickness is already too far ahead for any remedies to work and he'll be gone by the time any medicine from the south arrives..."

The healer trailed off seeing that Stoick had already stormed off and all that was left was the door to the healer's house swinging in the wind.

~

Stoick was roused by the creaks of the floorboards and harsh whispers.

"Shh! You might wake him up!"

"Well don't look at me, she started it!"

The sound of something hitting the floor.

"Ow! I am hurt, I am very much hurt!"

That was where Stoick got a little annoyed. He sat up and was about to stand up and scream at whoever decided to barge in, Hiccup being asleep be dammed, when he got a good look at the intruders.

Five kids.

He instantly clamed himself down. They were just kids, probably wanting to visit Hiccup or something. He spotted Fishlegs, the Thorston Twins, his nephew Snoutlout, and the Hofferson girl.

"What are you doing at this time late at night?" Stoick asked, rubbing his forehead impatiently.

"It's noon, sir." Fishlegs spoke, but instantly quieted at the five glares directed at him.

"We wanted to visit Hiccup, sir." That Hofferson girl spoke. Her face was indifferent yet her eyes were softer and sadder than Stoick had ever seen her.

Stoick sighed and stood up from the chair he was sitting in and nodding for them to go. Even if they wanted to talk to them, Hiccup wouldn't wake up. The healer had said the herbs that would make him sleep deeply would lessen the pain he was in.

Fishlegs was the first on in to the chair and desperately clutching his hand. The Thorston twins clambered on to the chair opposite and dug their faces in to Hiccup's skinny (Too skinny) side. The Hofferson girl sat herself on the pillow, draping Hiccup's head in her lap. Snoutlout shifted uncomfortably but sat himself on the foot of the bed regardless.

"Hey Hiccup." Fishlegs broke the silence. "We brought you something. Took nearly a near death experience and a whole lot of breaking in but you always wanted it." He pulled out a book from his satchel. The cover of the book was worn and the pages were obviously well used but the book was unrecognizable to the chief.

Fishlegs slid the book on to the night stand before rambling about his day.

Each of the eight-nine year old children took turns telling the sleeping boy about their day. Fishlegs had explained wildly about the groups adventure in to the library to face the gangly librarian. The Thorston twins and Snoutlout interjected their own parts here and there with shit-eating grins and even The Hofferson girl joined in briefly of their epic storytelling.

The group eventually said their goodbyes to the sleeping boy when their parents could be heard calling them in for dinner. Stoick watched them sadly as they left the healer's hut, chattering the whole way. He took a seat and watched his son's chest rise and fall.

He was about to settle in and call for someone to bring him dinner when he noticed the book sitting innocently on the night stand.

~  
Everyone knew the forest was a forbidden place.

Only the outcastes went in there, never again seen alive. Not to say they remains were found mornings after on their old doorstep. The death would be a bloody and painful death by the cut of the ankle tendons.

Stories, or legends, as they put it, were passed down through the centuries. The ruler of the forest was a demon, know by the nickname 'Night Fury' for the time he takes his anger out.

He controls the lower demon's. They obey his every beck and call and Stoick is fairly certain they don't even have a mind of their own. They have a couple of the demons locked away in an underground prison. Just below the Night Fury's attention.

No one has ever seen the legendary Night Fury. Well, at least seen it and LIVED.

This was all common knowledge. But this book told Stoick something different.

There was a way to save Hiccup.

The demons can take in changelings if they want. The forest wood protect the changeling and no harm would fall their way.

The demon would cast a spell that would keep Hiccup alive and well, at the stake that he would never leave the enchanted forest.

But Stoick never really had a choice, did he?

~  
The village watched in quiet silence as Stoick lied the boy gently of a bed of moss at the edge of the dense tree line. An air of quietness sung in the air with a bitter chill. He stepped back in line with the others, wondering if this was really a good idea.

The healer had helped change Hiccup out of his blood-stained clothes and in to an outfit that the Hofferson girl said was his favorite. He was adorned in a green tunic and leggings, a brown vest and boots, and a single locket that Valhallarama had given Stoick with a carefully painted portrait of a happy couple and a little boy.

The fact that he haven't even remembered to grieve for his long past wife in concern for his ever distant son startled Stoick deeply.

The entire crowd watched in hushed silence for something to happen.

Then something did.

The shadows morphed and formed mockery's of the crowds terrified silence. The chill began to penetrate harshly in to the bones of the onlookers and a blue glow started to emit from the forest.

A black shape merged from the shadows, the only thing indistinguishable from the shadows was toxic green eyes staring right in to Stoick's. 

The legendary Night Fury has come.


	2. Downed Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had to be illegal.  
> This kid was too cute to be legal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the Kudos and bookmarks!

"Kongen av lyn og død," One of the common dragons greeted with a flourish. Svart, or the king of lightning and death as the common dragon noted, nodded his head.

One of these days, he was going to outlaw political meetings.

Svart only came through to the throne by whispers of his speed and rank with power. Unlike the 'humans' on the outskirt of his region, birthright had no place here. Only those the strongest and the fastest were accepted. Well, until he established with the higher dragons that were such a thing as lower class.

"Kongen! _King!_ " A fire-breather rushed from the adjacent hallway. Svart was given a large palace that most of the warrior dragons and higher ups lived in. He still hated the slippery stone floors.

He recognized the fire-breather as Brann. Brann was a childhood friend of his from the far-far mountains that they both grew up in before _it_ happened.

"Yes?" Svart rose from his chair, moving so quickly the chair protested against the floor with a loud creaky noise.

"There.... has been a...offering....from the humans." Brann panted, leaning over and quickly changing from his dragon form to the disgusting human form with the usual sickening snaps.

Each dragon had one. Svart had no word against it but he personally never used very much. Human form was too weak flimsy, not even able to fly.

Svart pressed hard on the invisible heat in his chest, just waiting for it gather so much energy it just exploded.....

Fireworks went off in his head as he turned his into the human form, adjusting the formal robe tighter now that his body had gotten that much smaller. The one benefit that Svart admitted to was better conversation as a human. Growls and such weren't the greatest.

"What kind of offering?" Svart rolled his shoulders, feeling his dark hair brush his shoulder blades.

"The human kind." Brann looked him in the eye, brushing his cropped red hair back.

" **What!!** " Svart yelled, spinning on his heels to stare directly in to Brann yellow eyes. Now that he thought about; most of the dragons and spirits in the forest had yellow eyes. Svart cut off his thought and focused back on his earlier anger.

He took a long breath. "What is it they are sacrificing and why?" He forced out through gritted teeth.

That was when a high ranking Poison-dart stepped forward. Giften was a close colleague who Svart counted as one of those he trust. She transformed as well in to a human, brushing it off as it was nothing.

"Scouts reported a boy, possibly around seven or eight on the western border. Was reported unnaturally thin and showed signs of a high fever. Hard-breaks said he was possibly deeply ill. Heart rate was unsteady enough to say that he was in fatal conditions and have a high chance of death. Kongen, I think the boy is dying and the village is asking for your help."

Svart face fell briefly before he collapsed on to his throne. To take in a young boy, or to leave him to die? To ruin their secret world and trapped a human child with the likes of them or send for medicine and hope that the boy survives until then?

It wasn't like he had much of a choice.

He stood up from his throne with a determined face and motioned to the higher-ups and warriors on duty by the arches. "Prepare the fleet!"

                                                                                                             ~

Before he left, he transformed back again in to dragon form and ensured that everyone going with him was too. He spent centuries protecting the secret and he be dammed if he let it out now.

Giften and Brann on either side of him nodded, both in dragon forms and a fierce expression on their faces.

Svart lifted his head up and roared, leaning back on his haunches and taking to the air. This was one of the things he loved most. Flying; letting his wings lift off and feel the sensation of the wind blowing and the sun on his back. He would never give this up for the world.

All too soon they landed before the crowd could see him. Svart couldn't help the grin on his face from wanting to terrify the humans. Brann saw his grin and gave him a copy-cat grin of his own. Svart smile grew wider.

He crept around the tree trunk, letting the lower-dragons go first to spook the humans. He slide forward and watched carefully as the human retreated back a couple of steps, huddling together for mock safety.

As his eyes took in the crowd beyond the tree line, they connected with someone's else's.

Svart recognized the man. He was the human's leader who always yelled and stomped his feet.

The man's eyes looked darker and more grieved than Svart has ever seen them, and that includes when his mate has passed on to Someplace Else. His eyes seemed to plead with Svart to do something.

Svart slinked more across the ground until the tip of his head rose from the shadows. The humans gasped.

He silted his eyes at anyone who was too close for his liking as they got a hint and took a step back. The tree next to him trembled as Giften settled in the branches, still unseen though the humans felt the tremble of the shadows.

After he decided that the people were scarred for life enough, he glanced around for his changeling. He spotted a little bundle a couple of steps in front of him.

It had to be illegal.

This kid was too cute to be legal.

True to Giften word, the boy was around seven or eight. His brown hair was mused in the most adorable way and freckles dotted the boy's face. Svart could feel his body heat radiating off of him from where he was standing. Despite how flushed the boy was, he was shaking uncontrollably and burrowed deeper in his thin blanket.

Svart drew closer, feeling himself attached to the boy. He lowered himself to the ground and stared at the boy, taking very small steps. He only stopped when he was as close to the boys face as possible.

The boy must have woken, either by chance or a giant reptile breathing on your face, he didn't know. But the boy's eyelids slid open until a pair of ~~the most brilliant green eyes he has ever seen.~~

Svart slide his teeth in and tried to imitate a human smile to make the boy feel at ease. The boy giggled, slipping a badly shaking hand from under his blanket and placing it on his muzzle.  

"Toothless?" The boy asked, his eyes so bright and alive that it forced Svart to think about how the boy with the green eyes fate rested in his hands.

The boy's hand slid off his muzzle, sleep overtaking him once more. Svart nuzzled his hair, giving him a few good licks to be sure. Once he was sure the boy would not awaken anytime soon, he lifted his head and screeched. The rest of the fleet joined in as celebration on the new member. Dimly, he noted that the humans except for the human leader had back up and covered their ears.

Svart leaned down and gently grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt and pulled him on to his back. He walked slowly back in to the shadows, but not without one last glance. The village leader stared at him with a look of gratitude and deep sadness. Svart nodded his head to him before retreating in to the shadows.

It would be a several hour walk back to his land since he could no longer fly without the risk of killing the green-eyed boy, but for some reason he didn't think that he minded all that much. Walking was just as good with a warm weight on your back and the sound of soft snores.

 

 


	3. See You Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well Shit.  
> Hiccup stared up at the man in front of him. He was older then him by eight or nine years in appearance, but dam.  
> This man, the king of this magic place, was probably his first crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay!

Hiccup awoke with piercing sunlight in his eyes.

He blinked repeatedly, but his eyes still took awhile to adjust to the bright sunlight streaming from the hole in the wall.

Wait, hole in the wall?

He sat up, and for the first time he noticed he wasn't in his bed. He sure wasn't in his house by the fact his house was made of wood and this place looked like it was made of brick. Hiccup wasn't even sure if he was in Berk.

He shifted, feeling the weird bed rolled beneath him. The bed was basically a pile of pillows that clashed funky like. A patchwork blanket lied bundled around his legs.

The brunette boy raised his arms above his head and stretched, a yawn catching in his throat. He felt better than he had in a while, in fact. His head didn't feel like it was stuffed with rocks and for once he was actually hungry.

Shaking his head, he shifted and stuffed his hand up his tunic. He patted around his thighs before removing his hand.

He stared.

_I'm not bleeding_.

A little while after his mother passed, he started bleeding in his sleep. After waking up, he would always feel light-headed and dizzy afterwards.

Every night.

But today, their was no blood.

He stood up, looking around the room with awed fascination.

The walls were a grey brick with white stone floor. There was no glass in the window, just a giant hole in the wall. The view was mostly a mass of trees and sky. The floors had intricate rugs with designs he has never seen before. The rest of the room was an empty space except a archway with flowing sheer green material. It might have been silk, but he has never seen it before so he wouldn't know.

He slid around in a desperate haste, stopping short as he leaned on the wooden arch. He wasn't wearing any shoes, just long socks, though he could have sworn he wasn't wearing this outfit when he went to bed last night. He was wearing his green tunic and socks, his  too big vest lying in a heap next to the bed.

Did he go to bed last night?

Hiccup pulled back the sheer material, glancing around. Empty narrow hallways greeted his view.

He crept forward, and for certain he wasn't home.

The hallways never seemed to change, that's for sure. He could have been walking in circles for all he knew. He stuck a hand on the wall, trying and failing to remember the grooves in the brick. Occasionally, a lamp with green light hung from the high ceiling.

He glances back once and that made him gape. Everywhere his hand touched, vines with their leaves grew from the cracks between the bricks.

Where was everybody? Was he all alone here? Is he going to be in this dream forever? A sudden urge to turn around and go back overcame him.

Then instead of going impossibly straight, about ten feet ahead of him the world misted until he could no longer see around him. Hiccup leapt for the wall, but it disappeared and he was sent falling into empty air.

He landed, winded mind you, on a wooden table.

And about dozen people in formal clothes staring down at him.

He blushed about twelve shades of red and sat up slowly. He was in some kind of grand hall made of shining stone and a large wooden table he was unfortunately lying on.

Most of the people at the table were men, with an occasional stern faced woman. They dressed in shades of green and brown tunics and vines wrapped in their hair.

One man stood up, his face was full of shock.

Well Shit.  
  
Hiccup stared up at the man in front of him. He was older then him by eight or nine years in appearance, but dam.  
  
This man, the king of this magic place, was probably his first crush.

 A crown sat on to the top of his head, a crest that was too far away for him to make out clearly. Vines wrapped in his hair, a couple of leaves brushed his face.

The man had a shock of black hair that was mid-way between his nape of his neck and his shoulders. His skin was tanned and he had bright green eyes that were wide open. He was the only one dressed in a black tunic and green shorts.

The man walked over to where Hiccup was sitting awkwardly on the table. He grabbed Hiccup's hand in one swift motion and sat on one knee. Hiccup was scooted foreword until he was leaning foreword and one leg left to swing in the air.

Hiccup's hand felt warm in this strange man's hand. His skin tingled and pricked like he was being shocked by lighting.

He was sure he blushed a shade darker.

"You.." The man said, rolling his tongue around in his mouth. "You....Your name?"

Hiccup opened his mouth and shut it. His mouth flopped like a fish for a couple of seconds before squeaking out his name.

"Hiccup," The man repeated to himself, a smile gracing his lips. "I am Toothless."

Many of the men shifted their eyes with an amused look and the woman brought up a hand to stifle their giggles or coughed.

"Toothless," Hiccup repeated to himself. He smiled back at the man who looked like the sky and Earth was given to him.

"I am the king," Toothless said. "And you shall be my queen."

Toothless leaned down and planted a kiss on the back of Hiccup's hand. 

Hiccup toppled right of the table and on to the stone floor.


	4. This time for sure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup explores the strange castle and makes a friend or two.

"Hiccup, You okay!?!" Toothless hovered over him.

"Ow......" Hiccup groaned, cradling his aching head. His entire body was sore from hitting the stone floors. Why did this place have stone as floors anyways! There was plenty of it outside!

"Dude, that must have hurt!" Someone yelled from the crowd of people. Toothless head shot up before he sent a scowling look and muttering 'Bran' under his breath.

Hiccup moaned a bit before bringing himself up so he was leaning on Toothless. He felt Toothless skin warm underneath his touch. He looked up to see that Toothless blushing fiercely.

"Uh...." Toothless fumbled for a second and his hands fidgeted. "Giften! Take Hiccup back to his room. I'll explain everything once you get some more sleep." There was a bit of a slur in his voice that wasn't there before.

Toothless stood up and before Hiccup could fall over he grabbed him by the waist and slung him up. Hiccup already felt the heat from earlier return to his cheeks.

A woman from the crowd pushed her way through and stood before Hiccup and Toothless. Her hair was long, down to her waist, and blue with streaks of blonde. Her eyes were yellow and had fair skin. The way she held herself reminded Hiccup of Astrid.

Before nostalgia could kick in, the woman spoke.

"Hello Hiccup, I'm Giften." The woman curtsied in her long yellow and blue dress.

It's the way people here talk, Hiccup decided. The way they talked was like they were rehearsing it in their head and it was a foreign language that they had to test each syllable out before speaking it.

Giften lowered herself to the floor and muttered something under her breath. Next to her, something formed.

Hiccup caught his breath.

Next to her, and purple circle formed. It swirled in different directions and acted like it had a life of it's own. Eventually, the purple cleared away to see the room where he was in before. Giften stuck a hand through and motioned with her other hand for him to come foreword.

Hiccup climbed out of Toothless tight grasp and toward Giften. He was about halfway there before the wind brushed his hair and something moved next to him.

All he had time to do was glance over and spot another circle being formed before a hand reached out and dragged him inside.

~

He landed winded for the second time that day on a tree branch. A tree branch!

"Oh Thor, you just had to see your face." A voice said from behind him.

Hiccup turned his bruised neck to face someone sitting on the tree branch next to him. A girl around his age covered in leather and beads crouched next to him. Her blonde hair stuck out everywhere and she stared at him with diamond shaped pupils. Don't forget the cat ears and tails.

"You're the king's new ward, huh? I was kind of expecting someone older...." The girl continued to talk to herself, eyes focused on something in the distance before snapping back to his.

"What's your name? I'm Camicazi, daughter of the chief of the bog-burglar tribe!" Camicazi rambled.

"Hiccup," He said, pulling himself up to a sitting position.

"Love it! Wanna know what's even cooler? You're the only boy around my age around here! Sure there's the girls of my tribe, but their all boring! And of course there's the path, but only dead people are on that and there never their long...." Hiccup was beginning to get the hint that the girl liked to talk.

The girl shot foreword, "Wanna play a game? I know lots of games! How 'bout hide and seek?"

Hiccup brightened up almost instantly. "I'm the best at hide and seek in my village." He boasted.

"Nu uh."

"Uh huh."

"Nu uh."

"Uh huh."

"Fine! Prove it, you'll hide, I'll seek. If I can find you within an hour, I win. I'll give you a two minute head start." She closed her eyes, "One one thousand, two one thousand..."

Hiccup scampered down the pine tree, scraping his hands in the process. His face quirk in a grin as he started off, running through dense foliage.

The world for the next minute was a blur of trees and bushes. Light somehow made it's way in spots to the moss-covered ground.

He kept running until his legs tired, before he twisted sharply to the left. Green scenery came to a halt as he stopped right in front of a body of water. It could have been an ocean for how long it stretched on.

Smirking to himself, Hiccup pulled up his tunic and waded in the water.

"Cold! Cold! Very cold!" He muttered to himself. Hiccup braced himself before diving in to the blue water.

The water was a blue-green, as he saw the sun pierce through the water for a couple of feet, before disappearing all together somewhere near the bottom.

He didn't know how to swim very well, but he knew to just hold his breath and make frantic motions with his arms and legs and that would get him somewhere. Always worked before, didn't see why it would stop now.

When his lungs eventually felt like they were about to burst, he broke the surface of the water. He swam parallel to the shore, so he was less farther along then he thought he was. He swam awkwardly above water before dragging himself on to the shore.

He smiled victorious. After all, cats follow you by smell, don't they?

He shook himself off a bit, already feeling the cold air sting him. Hiccup was pretty sure his hands and feet were already going numb.

Up ahead, there was a tree that had a hollowed out inside. Shivering, the boy climbed the tree and curled inside the damp inside.

His entire body felt like it on cold fire, his skin burning as the blasted water dripped down his face and arms. 

He waited for someone to come, his teeth beginning to chatter. He took a quick glance outside his dark chamber and to his surprise the forest was no longer bright. The shades of greens were dimmed in a sense and when he tried to catch a glimpse of the sky it was dark.

Then the crickets started.

_Great......_

Hiccup rubbed his arms, mentally willing the Goosebumps to go down. He was stuck in a tree, freezing cold, sobbing wet, and it was night out. Did he mention he had a fear of the dark!?!

He sat there for what seemed like hours, trying to keep himself awake. His mom, in a very faint memory, once told him to stay awake if he ever got lost alone at night. If he falls asleep, he might not wake up.

Around what felt like hour three, but could be five minutes for all he knew (Hiccup tried to count seconds in his head, but he kept losing count), his head started to bob.

He would close his eyes to blink, but it took all his energy to open them again. Sometimes, he would fall asleep briefly only to end up close to falling out of the tree.

Against his will, he fell asleep.

~

"Poor boy......-His lips are blue-..........-Wrap him up tighter-....."

Hiccup awoke to a collage of voices. The strongest one (And nearest one probably) was a female voice. Giften maybe? Camicazi? No, it was to gentle and sure-sounding for the high-pitched squealing girl.

"Hiccup?" Someone asked, and the warm pillows around him shifted. Actually, he was pretty sure those were arms around him when a hand came up and stroked his hair.

He let out a groan, snuggling more in to the warmness .

"Hiccup?" The voice was more urgent now, and he could barely make out that it was a male speaking. "I need you to open your eyes."

Hiccup shook his head, trying to grab the blanket to pull over his head. But he couldn't move his arms. He couldn't feel his arms!

"Please Hiccup," The mysterious man pleaded. "Open your eyes, and-and then you can sleep as long as you want, okay?"

Hiccup scowled, but he relented. He tried to open his eyes, but they were too heavy.

"You're doing good! Keep trying, for me please?"

That was when Hiccup realized that it was Toothless who was talking.

Slowly, very slowly, he opened his eyes. Toothless was naked from the waist up and he was staring intently at Hiccup, who realized he was pressed against his chest.

Toothless face broke out in to a grin, his eyes warming when he saw Hiccups' open eyes.

"I was worried. You were not opening your eyes for a long time." Toothless smiled, stroking Hiccup's head again.

Toothless glanced up at someone Hiccup couldn't see and barked something. "Go lock up Camicazi! She was trying to kill Hiccup!"

"NO!" Hiccup shouted. He tried to move his head, but it was caught in Toothless' elbow.

"She-" His voice cracked. "She was my first friend who... who didn't try to be my friend just because of who my dad was. And we were playing hide 'n seek. I was the hider....but I got really cold and couldn't stay awake. I'm sorry, don't hurt my friend."

Toothless' smiled just the tiniest bit and a look that was similar to proudness shimmered in his eyes.

"Let the girl go!" He shouted. He looked down at Hiccup and said with a smirk, "One of these days I wonder whenever I should bundle you up or kick you out."

Hiccup laughed, and let his head go limp. He closed his eyes, and stopped fighting the blackness.

"Hiccup? Hiccup!" Toothless' voice faded out, and he let himself fall in to the abyss.

On a thought, no one was surprised except Hiccup when Camicazi showed up the next day at the castle with a royal invitation signed by the king himself to become the king's ward new playmate.

  

 

 

 

 


	5. Coming Back Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup and Camicazi bond over food, Hiccup learns more about the world he's in, Toothless has a soft spot for Hiccup, and he is starting to seriously hate these portals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GAH! PLOT!  
> I seriously need to figure out a name for this magic forest.

"Camicazi!" Hiccup shouted, wrapping his body around hers in a form of a hug.

"Hiccup! I've been invited to stay here so we could play all day and night and there's some cool game ideas I have and I'm hungry!" Camicazi rambled, hugging back almost with the same vigor the boy did.

"Really?" Hiccup pulled back. "Who invited you to stay?"

"The Kongen of course!" Camicazi waved her hand.

"Kongen?" Hiccup asked, tilting his head. 

"Oops, sorry. Forgot for a minute you didn't speak dragonese. The king, is what I said." Camicazi laughed, pushing Hiccup back so she could squeeze through the giant glass (That's what he has been told what it was, but it was too many colors for that) door.

"There he is!" Camicazi stopped and pointed to a man walking by.

Hiccup froze.

It was the same man who kissed his hand. Toothless.

Sure, he had his suspicion about the man being the king (The silver crown wrapped in ivy didn't help) he had no idea that the man had this much power to let his only friend move in.

Maybe he'd bump his one friend to two friends.

He missed Berk. He figured out pretty soon that he wasn't there, or possibly anywhere close to there. He might have been kidnapped, but he didn't think so with the way the people acted so carelessly around him. If he was, he was somehow okay with that.

Was it bad that he was starting to like this place more than Berk?

Sure, Berk has dad and Fishlegs, but there was so many things here! Weird invention, nice people, and somehow they had magic.

Thor oh mighty, what did he get himself into?

Hiccup was so deep in thought that he didn't notice Toothless standing in front of him until he was right in his face.

"Hiccup?" He whispered. Right. In. His. Ear.

He will forever deny screaming like a girl for however long he should live.

"Hiccup, are you quite alright? Did I startle you?" Toothless asked, his face distressed. He leaned down so each of his hands were on the boys shoulder and they were face level.

"Y-yeah." He squawked.

Toothless let out a relieved smile, the corner of his eyes crinkling with his smile.

"You are cute," He winked at the blushing boy.

Hiccup face flushed such a dark red it was worrying. "A-Ah..." He stammered, patting his face.

Toothless snorted, leaning foreword so his head was pressed in to Hiccup's shoulder. Through the thin material of his shirt, Hiccup could feel Toothless' smile.

Toothless straightened himself out, giving the poor boy a wide smirk. Hiccup flushed once more, hands coming up to pat at his face.

"Um.." He looked anywhere, anywhere except the handsome (handsome?) man standing in front of him. "Um..."

In one smooth movement, he shoved Toothless backwards by squashing his hand against his cheek, grabbed Camicazi's stunned hand, and running off.

"Sorry!" He yelled, not breaking stride or even looking over the stumbling Camicazi to the king in fear of his anger.

But that was not at all what was happening. Toothless hanged back, his face shocked. One hand was resting on his cheek where Hiccup pushed him while the other was in air mid-motion, like he was reaching out for the fleeing boy.

Slowly, ever so slowly, his face broke out in to a grin.

"So cute," He caressed his red cheek, but not red for the reason people might think.

Svart, or Toothless, the king of the Ancient world, was blushing because of an eight year old boy.

~

"Odin," Hiccup watched with amazement. "You were hungry."

To say that Camicazi was shoveling food down her throat was an understatement. The instant one of those green and orange headed servants lied a platter of green stuff of unroasted fish and meat is disappeared down her throat.

"So," He stated once the flow of food gradually decreased. "How did you do it? I mean, how did you leave your family and friends like that to just to play with me?"

He was still wrapping his head around how he was okay with being here against his consent.

Was it?

Camicazi swallowed the last of the food and sat back. "It's probably a bit different with you mortals," She started, waving at her cat ears and tail. "People here are not human, that's just the human-ish form they take. The form I'm in is considered my human form. We also have a thing called...what's the word in your language?" She paused, titling her head. "Bonding, is the closest word, I suppose. We have one person we like the most, and that's that. It's not a conscious thing actually, but we usually bond with the person we find most fascinating. You are the first human, and first boy my age I've met, so it's only natural I bonded with you."

"Wait, you bonded with _ME_!" Hiccup stood, propelling himself backwards.

"It's not a major thing, actually. All humans do it as well, you call it that weird word 'Love'." Camicazi propped her head on one hand.

"You _LOVE_ me!!!!!" Hiccup shouted, back slamming against the brick walls.

"No, Bonded. Two different things. It just means I like you, platonic."

Hiccup sighed. "Good, I mean, not good. It's okay if you like me that way, it's just I don't feel the same way you do and that's totally okay I totally get it, there used to be a girl I like named Astrid but-"

"Whoa," Camicazi interrupted. "And I thought I talked a lot when nervous."

Even though the words were kind of harsh, her face was all smiles, so he smiled right back.

There was movement behind him. Which was kind of strange considering he was against a wall.

Camicazi's eyes widened and her mouth was open, parted in a silent scream. Hiccup glanced behind him to see the familiar swirling colors of the portal before something grabbed his shirt and dragged him through.

The world fell to black with one thought on his mind;

He was seriously starting to hate these portals.

 

 


	6. The Cove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup is really starting to hate these Portals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness!  
> (Can you guess the two Rise of the Guardians characters I mentioned? One's obvious while the other quite isn't so but still.)

Hiccup tumbled throught the portal, feeling his insides tugg by some outside force. (Which was not a very pleasant feeling thank you very much)

When he finally landed, he ended up sprawled on the grass facedown.

"Ouch," Someone said from above him. Hiccup groaned. "Sorry, portals aren't the most fine to be pulled through. Know by expireance."

He finally gathered the strengh to turn himself over so he could at least see who was talking to him. For a moment, a light blinded him before it was blocked out by someone leaning over him. Hiccup blinked repeatly, letting his eyes adjust from the rapid change in light.

The brunnette boy gasped.

Standing above him was a boy his age. The boy had windswept brown hair and amber eyes with a rim of gold around his pupils. His skin was tan, which was a rarity in Berk. The only people outside of Berk and the forest was the traders or slaves on boats that visited Berk.

He wore a thin white blouse with a brown vest and cloak. His brown pants were shredded and barely held together by strands of twine wrapped around his calves. Hiccup couldn't see his feet from where he was laying, but he was going to assume they were bare.

But something was...off about him. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but it was defiantly there.

Hiccup's eyes widened.

The boy was translucent! In certain patches Hiccup could see right through to the trees behind him. He thoughts were interupted when the side of his tunic soaked through.

The king's ward glanced down, watching the dirt and grass around the mysterious boy's feet darken and pushed down by the water falling from the boy.

But his hair was perfectly dry! The boy didn't even look the slightest bit wet, but his clothes were dripping.

"Sorry for dragging you out here. Actually, not really." The boy smriked holding out a hand for the younger boy.

Hiccup pushed it aside, standing up on his own. With a cross look, he folded his arms on his chest and stared the boy down.

"Okay," He wiped imaginary dirt from his shirt (A bit of it was actual dirt). "This is probably the third time this week I've been kidnapped and I'm pretty sick of it. So this needs to. Stop. Now."

The boy raised his hands in mock defeat, wicked smirk on his face. "Easy, tiger. Just figured with the King guest all alone is the castle could get pretty boring, so I wanted to show you a glispe of the outside world."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, glancing around. The place was pretty, but a bit spooky. They stood in a field of grass with trees bordering on three sides. One side was a small brick path that led on to a bridge in to the mist on the other side.

If he looked closer, he could spot people relaxing in the grass. Most of them were huddled together in groups talking while others were by themselves, or being led by another person on to the bridge only to dissapear on the other side. All of them were translucent.

Didn't Camicazi was mention something about a Path?

Realization hit him hard.

"Y-you're all ghosts!" He half screeched.

The boy gave another of his awfull smirk, mock bowing. "So the he had finally figured it out. Damm, that ruins it. Well there's the bridge for people who want to cross over, and the rest of us are just stuck here with nothing to do. Well besides for talking, but that gets boring after awhile."

Hiccup looked wildly around, his whole body shaking like a leaf. Tears were already gathering in his eyes. "D-Does that mean I'm dead?!?"

The boy looked bewildered. "What? No! It simply means I'm bored and your my ticket out of here."

Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows, but before he could respond, something between a cross of a dragon and an avalanche was heard that sounded suspiciously like his name before he was swept up by some black mass.

Hiicup was tossed on to something, something black and scaly, like a dragon. His eyes widened as he realized that he was _laying on the back of a night fury._

And not just any night fury. When the dragon's head swerved around briefly to make sure he landed correctly, his eyes locked on to a familiar pair of toxic green.

"T-Toothless...?" He studdered, hands grasping at the front of his shirt.

Said dragon looked sad, but he nodded nonetheless before unfolding his wings.

"Wait!" Hiccup screamed, but it was too late. Toothless braced himself against the ground before taking off in to the air. His stomach rose up in to his throat, hands scrambling anywhere for purpose on the dragon.

" _Natt, ta vare på ham for meg, vil ya?"_ Someone screamed from below.

His hair flew behind him, but with frightened eyes he peeked over the edge. Miles of trees rolled away in to clouds of mist except for the grassy field and the golden bridge. The ghosts all rippled and as Hiccup glanced desperatly for the cloaked boy, he didn't find him.

Hiccup barely turned around to face the front before Toothless broke in to the fog and a ripple passed through both of them.

He whipped his head back and forth from his perch on Toothless's back, sitting up a tinest bit in order to look through the fog.

He had no warning when they suddenly broke through the fog thousand of feet up in the air.

The brown haired boy squealed, flattening himself of Toothless's back. Don't look down, Don't look down, what ever you do Hiccup do NOT look down-

His train of thought was cut off when a flock of colored birds flew up next to him. They were a mix of blue and green with spolts of yellow and pick around their beak and face. Their wings were clear and intergrate, reminding him of hummingbirds.

"Wow," He whispered, puttting a hand out to touch on. Surprisingly, a flock flew real close around his face, perching on his outstreched arm and hair.

_I think they like my teeth_ , Hiccup thought to himself as a few leaned in to goggled his teeth. In cue, all of the birds turned to some invisible sound in the distance before flying off.

Hiccup, feeling bolder, leaned over to look at the trees below. Clashes of green and brown invaded his sight, enen some yellow and orange! There were blue as sky lakes and herds of animals. Even dragons!

To his surprise, none of the dragons seemed as vicious as they do when they attacked Berk. Here, they seemed almost...playful. Flocks of what looked like families flew together or perched on the tallest of trees.

With and odd sense of estacy, they drew closer to the castle. The stone castle rose from the ground in a maze work of towers, villages clustered near it.

Hiccup was actually disapointed when they landed on the roof of one of the towers. The flight made him feel different, more complete in a sense.

He skidded of Toothless's back, stumbling for a second as his feet came reaquainted with the ground. Toothless, rolled his shoulders weirdly and with a loud crack he become the Toothless Hiccup was familar with.

"You had me worried!" Was the first thing he said, rushing over to the small boy and patting him down. "Most people don't make it back from the path the same. Something could have happened!"

Hiccup fiddled with his hands. "Like what?"

"One of the spirits from the path could have clung to your life force and followed you." Toothless rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Life force?" Hiccup asked, rocking on his heels.

"Um...Bonding, they could have bonded with you, which gives them the ability to follow you off the path and in to the realm of the living, which usually leads to various distarious results." Toothless cuffed the back of his head lightly, but he still looked worried.

The king grabbed his shoulder, leading him to a staircase he didn't see before. They climbed down in silence, walking out in to the grand hall he landed in a couple of days ago. Toothless nodded at a red haire man standing in one of the hallways. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes. I'll have someone bring out some food and summon Camicazi." And then he left.

Hiccup sighed, leaning on one arm. He wondered about the cloacked boy, how he died, was he ever going to pass over?

"I didn't even learn his name," He said sadly, reaching over to poke at the flowers that sat in the middle of the table (thank god they weren't there when he landed on in) but stopped when a chair was scraped violently back and someone sat next to him.

He looked up, expecting to see Toothless or Camicazi, even one of the servants but stopped when he met familar amber eyes.

"It's Jack," Said the dripping boy. "And it looks like we just bonded."

 


	7. Not So Fireproof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Words are spoken, bonds are made, and it all ends with a food fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The writing for my other story Cold Water took so long that I forgot about this one :/

"So, let me get this straight." Toothless rubbed his forehead. "You bonded with Hiccup, _used_ him for a free pass to the world of the living, and _now you want to stay here!"_

"Pretty much," Jack nodded, doing that weird version of lying down in mid air. Hiccup and Camicazi watched with wide eyes as the King of the Old World continued to rub his head, obviously angry.

"Too bad, the dead should not be here. Leave now or _I'll_ make you!" Toothless growled, his eyes narrowing until the represented something similar to a cat.

"Can't kill the dead, old man." Jack smirked, resorting to hovering while picking his fingernails.

"Jack!" Hiccup hissed, glancing at Toothless who looked ready to kill.

Said person shot him a look, but nodded anyhow and floated closer to Earth.

"Listen- I," Jack scratched the back of his head, looking nervous. "I-I left so suddenly I didn't have time to say goodbye."

Toothless looked unimpressed, crossing his arms.

Jack continued. "I just wanted- Screw it. I need to say goodbye, she watched me _drown._ And theirs someone else, I-" He stopped, suddenly looking embarrassed. His cheeks lit up and he started stuttering.

_Huh?_ Hiccup raised an eyebrow. But when he looked more closely at the dripping boy, he realized that Jack was fiddling with something in his hands. Something purple.

"What's that?" Hiccup asked, standing up before either Toothless or Camicazi could protest and grabbing Jack's wrist.

His eyes widened.

In Jack's hand was a single flower. Like the types you give someone when you were courting someone.

"Oh," Was all he said, backing up before fumbling for Camicazi's arm and running off. His face felt like it was about to burn he was blushing so hard.

"Hiccup!" Camicazi yelled, slugging his arm when they finally stopped. "What was that for?"

Hiccup muttered. "I should be asking you the same thing." He coughed, speaking so she could hear. "Jack had a courting flower! That's who he wants to say goodbye to!"

Camicazi looked amused for some reason, sliding down one of the never ending hallways walls.

"Hiccup," She began. Said person nodded and sat down next to her. "Do you know what courting flowers represent?"

"Guys give one to a girl when they want to court them, the girl's either put it in their hair if they do or drop it if they don't." Hiccup recited. He frankly never did it, but he seen some of the older kids do it.

She smiled, one of her ears turning at some noise in the distance. "In Berk."

Hiccup opened his mouth but she cut him off. "In the old world, and the new world, flowers often have meanings. And the flower Jack had was given to him by the way he keeps looking at it fondly.

"Don't forget," Camicazi flicked her tail. "A girl didn't give him that flower."

"How do you know?" He asked.

"Just do." She smiled.

Both of them leaned against the wall, content to stare at the sky, but the thoughts kept swimming in his head. Two guys? But Dad always said...

He turned to her. "Is it normal for two guys, or two girls to be together?"

Camicazi raised an eyebrow. "Of course it is, Love is love, right? Doesn't matter who." He could find truth in that statement.

Both of them shuffled a bit in their seats, but Hiccup was restless.

"I'm going to go find Toothless, make sure he isn't sending Jack in to his grave any deeper." Hiccup nodded to himself. His mind kept spinning in circles and staying still wasn't helping.

Camicazi made an affirmative sound, but she spoke up when Hiccup was turning to go. "Hiccup?"

He looked over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"The flower Jack had, it was an Aster."

Hiccup thought about questioning the weird sentence, but thought better of it, turning around for the last time and walking off.

~

"You okay?" Hiccup asked, hands nervously fumbling as he watched Toothless write something on a piece of parchment.

Toothless' head snapped up. "Hiccup!" He hurried, standing up and pushing the paper's in to one pile on the wooden table.

Hiccup takes a moment to look around. He had asked of the servants, Anita, to give him directions to Toothless' room. He still got lost three times and in the end had to be escorted.

Not his fault! Some of these hallways here were never-ending, and sometimes he's seen people walk through walls!

The room was simple, a pile of pillows with a desk propped up in the corner. He sometimes questioned the décor. But he couldn't complain, Berk wasn't all that better.

"I was just doing some paperwork, why?" Toothless asked, standing up and walking closer to Hiccup who stood in the threshold.

"I'm just wondering...why were you so mad at Jack? Sure, he bonded with me as a free ticket out, but that's not all is there?" Hiccup stared down at his feet, tracing invisible marks on the ground.

Toothless' sighed, running a hand through his hair. Ever since they returned back to the Old World, neither of them have spoken a word about the dragon incident. Hiccup isn't too proud to admit it, but he keeps catching himself staring at him. The only things that comforts him is that Toothless does the same thing when he thinks Hiccup isn't looking at him.

"Ghosts...When they bond with someone, more often or not they end up killing the person they bond."

Hiccup stepped back, staring at him with horrified eyes. Jack could have killed him?!?!

"I don't believe they know that, but someone has to be really strong emotionally to survive it." Toothless sat down again, a tired expression on his face. Hiccup felt his heart lift a bit, Jack didn't mean it! "I lost my father to one of those on the path."

"Oh," Hiccup breath. His heart sunk again. He moved foreword, stopping right in front of him. The boy opened his arms, feeling hesitant, but continued on, wrapping his arms around The King.

Toothless stiffened, but soon relaxed and curled around the smaller boy.

Hiccup grinned in the crook of Toothless' neck. Sometimes, you needed a hug.

~

Toothless groaned, popping his back. Constantly moving between dragon's and human form hurt like hell, but it was worth it if Hiccup saw him as human being instead of a shape shifter.

He stopped when he heard Hiccup's voice. Following it, he heard Camicazi's giggles and Jack snickering. Rounding a corner, he stopped when he was in back of the children. Hiccup was muttering in a low voice, Camicazi pinching him occasionally so Hiccup reached around and pulled her ear. Jack was kneeling on Hiccup's other side, snickering and sliding in a couple of comments that both made Hiccup and Camicazi bright red.

 With a battle cry, Camicazi tackled Jack, quickly followed by Hiccup. They all shrieked as it soon turned in to an all out tickle fight, Hiccup outright _crying_ from laughing so hard.

Toothless didn't know how long he watched the children battle it out until they were lying on the ground, chests heaving.

Jack spoke, loud enough for him to hear. "Wanna get something to eat!?

Camicazi rolled over and smacked his arm. "You're going to eat us out of home!"

Hiccup wheezed, rolling over as well so he faced the ghost. "Yeah! You already pranked the third floor so bad we got kicked out! Of our own home!"

His heart warmed when Hiccup called this place home.

"I bet I'm on the naughty list!" Jack smirked, sitting up and grabbing both of their hands. "Ooh! I hold record!"

Jack stood up, dragging both of them to what he guessed was the general direction of the kitchen. Camicazi chattered as they raced down the halls. "I bet I have a higher record than you!"

"Oh yeah, well I...

Their voices faded out as they raced away, laughter still ringing around the halls.

Well, Jack wasn't half as bad as he thought he would be. He still too young to really understand what he might have done.

If Hiccup liked him, which was quite obvious as they wrestled on the floor, then he could learn to live with him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the note that Jack might be too young in receiving a courtship flower, you'll find out soon


	8. Wounded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thinking back, was it only yesterday that he was playing with his friends throughout the castle, eating dinner with Toothless and finally not having to worry that everything he did was being studied?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I can't not even express how happy I am with how well this story is being recieved. Thank all you guys, eternally, for everything.

" **NO**!!!" Hiccup flinched, bringing his hands up to tug at his tunic. Toothless looked a mixture of sadness and anger, and Hiccup for the life of him couldn't figure out which one he preferred.

All he had asked was that he could go visit home.

"Hiccup..." Toothless sighed, bringing up his hands.

He flinched.

Toothless looked like he was burnt, bringing back his hands to his side. The dark haired man took a step back and swallowed. Hiccup sent him a fearful look, and that ignited a rage inside him he didn't know he had. 

"You can't go home. You WILL die if you go to Berk!" Toothless yelled.

The brunette boys' head snapped up. "What?"

Toothless sighed again, bringing his hands up to his hair and muttering something that sounded like 'You weren't supposed to find out like this'. He finally looked Hiccup in the eye and said, "You would have died if you haven't came to my domain."

"W-what do you mean by 'die'?" Hiccup stuttered, drawing his hands to himself and staring at the spot near Toothless' feet.

"It is what I said." Toothless looked away, favoring instead to stare out the window. "You were dying in Berk, the only way your father could save your life was to partake in an old enchantment."

At that point, it was simply too much for Hiccup to take. He dropped to his knees, still looking blankly at the spot on the floor. His head swam, too muddled to think properly. He..- was dying?!?

Toothless ignored the need to hug the frightened boy. Hiccup would probably just push him away, he thought to himself with a prick of hurt. "The old enchantment only works if the human is going to die within ten days of the afflicted date. There are several domains within this forest, mine is only one of them. Only a ruler can take in a human, and from then on, they are under their protection. I did it because not only are there creatures who would abuse this knowledge, but a human is something that is rare within the borders of the Old World."

Hiccup could only sit there, winded.

All of a sudden, Toothless  _blushed_ of all things. "About that jester with the mention of you being my queen , the likeliness of it being true is quite high."

Now  _that_ got Hiccup's attention. "Your talking about the thing where you called me your queen when we first met?"

"Yes," Toothless rubbed the back of his head. "In all manners, you are in a quite similar role to that baring to a queen. So, essentially, you are my queen, as I your king."

That was the final straw. Hiccup stood up and fled as fast as he could. Hearing Toothless shout something at him, Hiccup turned down one of the tunnels, not looking back once.

"Come on, weird portal." He muttered. "I know I said earlier I hated you, but right now I  _really_ need you."

Then, by some given miracle, a portal formed. But standing between him and the portal was someone he didn't want to see.

"Jack," He hissed to himself, skidding to a stop. "Is it just me, or is everyone determined to tear down everything around me?"

Said person winced, but still held his gaze. "I overheard what happened with you and Toothless, I know right now it hurts, but you should talk it out with him."

"I don't want to!" Hiccup stomped his foot. Maybe what all of them had ignored, was the simple truth that Hiccup was _eight_ years old, and the truth was simply too much for him to process. But what is said cannot be reversed.

"Why not?" Jack stared at him coolly, his toes barley touching the stone floor from where he floated.

"Because!" Hiccup barked. "Because he thinks  _now_ is a good time to tell me! Just when I thought I was here because-because for the first time I was  _wanted-"_ At this point, his voice starts to break.

Jack's expression staggered dangerously close to pity, but the confused boy didn't want to be pitied. Well, maybe some small part of him did, the way a child always wanted their parents when they were sick or injured, but Hiccup never gotten that from his father after his mother passed.

"I need to just leave!" Hiccup screamed, grabbing his hair. "I just want it all to go away..."

Something in Jack hardened at that. His brown eyes flashed blue, his gaze turning cold.

"But what then? What about when you calmed down, what if Toothless disappeared when you decide to come back? You don't want to say any thing at all, anything to remind the people who are your _family_ that you love them, that you'll miss them?" Jack questioned, reaching over and shoving Hiccup harshly. 

"W-what?" he gasped out, surprised at Jacks' mood-flash.

"Don't let history repeat itself," Jack growled. "I made that mistake, and the one thing I desire the most was to go back and tell them that I loved them."

Hiccup took a step back, stunned briefly. He mulled the thought over in his head. No..he wasn't truly angry at Toothless. Mostly at himself, and the hurt that Toothless had decided to only let him stay because he pitied him. Not because he wanted him too.

The boy only watched in silence, until his eyes landed on the courtship flower Jack was stroking fondly in his hand. Jack had someone waiting for him, Camicazi had her village, Toothless had an entire kingdom, but what did he have? What did Hiccup have, that desire to be wanted, in anybody?

The only place he could have thought to call home, and it was just beyond the treeline of a place he was never wanted.

"You wouldn't understand!" Hiccup snarled, stalking up and pushing past the dripping boy. But before he could, Jack grabbed his wrists and spun him around so they faced each other.

"Try me!" He yelled. "Try me!"

"I already told you; You. Wouldn't. Understand!" Hiccup struggled in his grip.

Jack's eyes flashed. "How would I not understand!?"

"You have someone!" Hiccup exploded. "You have someone waiting for you, you have someone wanting you. That was you making the mistake, not me! I can fix it, you can't! Jack, your dead! Your dead, and your not going to move on because you can't. Your stuck pinning after some person who you don't even have the guts to go see the entire time you've been here. So don't go telling me what I can and can not do!" And at that, Hiccup tore his wrists away from Jack, storming toward the portal, leaving a stunned Jack behind.

~

Jumping through the uncomfortable feeling, Hiccup landed in a snow bank at the edge of a lake. Once the pain subsided to an uncomfortable itch, he opened his eyes.

It was snowing out, the snowflakes sticking to his lashes. Feeling goofy, Hiccup stuck out his tongue to taste it. 

The lake was like no other he has ever seen, he thought to himself. There was there ethereal feel to it, the ice glowing a faint blue while the snow glowed. Tilting his head, he heard the faint strains of music.

Enthralled, Hiccup stood up and padded across the lake. The sound of music steadily got louder, vibrating through out his body. Hiccup shuddered, feeling something fuzzy drip in to his head and make his body feel lax.

Stopping at the edge of the bank, he started having second thoughts about it. But it was too late it seemed, for his body began to move without him. 

STOP, he yelled in his mind, but his body continued to jerkily walk without him. 

Finally, he stopped.

But Hiccup didn't feel relief, instead, dread filled him. His body had stopped at the edge of a clearing of dancers, the bodies swimming together as the musicians played on an assortment of instruments. The ground was cleared of snow, unlike the rest of this strange land.

Thirteen, he counted in his head. 

Thirteen always was an unlucky number.

Noticing him, a pink haired dancer quickly removed themselves and hurried over, tugging on his hand. 

"Come play with us child," The man laughed. "It's fun, just dance!"

Hiccup's face stretched in to a smile without him wanting to, his body moving jerkily as he joined the dancers. Laughing, the pink man spun away, but was quickly replaced by man with blue hair.

"Dance, child!" The man grinned, grabbing his hands and swinging them together in an attempt at a dance.

"Don't hog him!" A blond musician yelled, a smile in his voice. Several laughs echoed across the clearing. Hiccup was spun between so many people he was beginning to lose count. He was spun off to a grinning red head with weird tattoos, then to a blond who was almost the same height as him, then to ANOTHER blond woman who grin was like lightning, sharp and dangerous.

Overall, he was frightened beyond belief at the lack of control of his own body.

Thinking back, was it only yesterday that he was playing with his friends throughout the castle, eating dinner with Toothless and finally not having to worry that everything he did was being studied?

Camicazi, Jack...

Toothless...

"The child wishes to sleep." A man with golden eyes commanded. The dancers formed a circle around him, chanting and singing in a foreign language he didn't understand.

Blackness closed in on him, his knees buckled as he hit the ground. His head smashed against the ground, vision going white.

"Sweet dreams, child." Was the last thing he heard before everything went dark.

He slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not 100% happy with this chapter, so I might go back and fix this. Also, a kingdom hearts refrence(s) since I'm obsessed with that right now. This fanfiction is going to have at least a brush with all my other favorites. As well, this part is going to be more focused on adventure and exploration of the region from now on. As well as angst-y Hiccup. Don't worry, it's all going back to fluff pretty soon.


	9. The Kill Ring

Hiccup woke up with a fuzzy mind and an even fuzzier memory.

Blinking at the white ceiling, he sat up, but what he saw made him draw his knees to his chest and scoot back.

The entire room was white. White walls, white floors, white door, white furniture. He sat on a wooden (painted white) bed with smooth, not particularly warm, blankets pooled around his waist. Across from and appearing to be the only furniture besides the bed was a table with two chairs. 

Standing up, only to jerk back when instead of the warmth of his boots, his bare feet met stone. Looking down, Hiccup realized he was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and pants. Rubbing his thumb along the edge of the too-big shirt, he recalled it being the same stuff that hangs in his doorway at the castle. That exotic stuff from the East...silk he thinks the name of it is.

Feeling more than a little frantic for the fact that he's missing his clothes and shoes, his hand snakes up to his neck for the familiar locket, but stops when he meets cold leather instead. 

Scrambling; Hiccup stopped when his eyes spotted gold. Not the barest peek of the sun from the window (Which all it showed was sky), but actual gold coming from near his bed. Turning around, he noticed something glinting from under his sole pillow.

It was a mirror. One of those small handheld ones with fancy, intricate sides and handle. Holding it up, he nearly dropped it when he spotted what was on his neck.

A green, leather collar. 

Feeling something he couldn't describe, like embarrassment but more like everyone he knew was reading all his thoughts and feelings without his permission. 

Setting the mirror on the bed (his hands were shaking) he went back to looking around the room. Another splash of color in the room was on the table were some parchment and charcoal, a stack of books, and a wash bin with towels lied.

Making up his mind, the brunette strode towards the door. Pulling on the door handle, growling under his breath when it wouldn't budge, he spun around and slammed his entire body against it.

Nope. Nada. Nothing.

The small boy at that point already started to cry, his eyes blurring as he struggled to remain his grip. Thor, why now of all times did he want to break into sobs?

Taking a large gulp of air, Hiccup continued to look around the room.

He only let himself break down when the window refused to open. Sitting back on the bed with his head in his hands, he cried.

He cried for his mother who he'll never see again, and for his father who wouldn't touch him or even look at him because of the pain.

He cried for Jack and his love who he refused to pass on for.

He cried for Camicazi and her smiles that he'll never see again. 

And for no reason, but the reason he cried the most, he cried for Toothless.

"Are you done yet?" A soft voice asked. Hiccup jolted, falling out of bed and staring hazily at the ceiling.

"I'm SO sorry, are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you like that, it's just I've kinda been here for a while and you haven't stopped yet but it seemed like you were calming down..." The voice from no where apologized, but the brunette could defiantly tell it was a girl.

Sitting up, he looked around the room. But when no one appeared anywhere in his room, he voiced his silent question. "Where are you?"

The voice laughed. "In the mirror, silly!"

Crawling back on to the not-so-comfy bed, he looked down at the small mirror. But instead of seeing himself, he saw someone else.

Stopping himself at the last minute from screaming, his eyes roamed over at the close up of a girl maybe a little older than him smiling at him. She was pale, probably as pale as the sheets, with washed-out blonde hair curling around her shoulders. The only spot of defiant color he saw all day, and that was the girl's eyes. They were a bright blue, glowing as if it was magic.

Hiccup blinked. "Who are you and why are you in the mirror?"

The girl giggled again, and that's when he noticed the strip of purple around her neck. "I'm not in the mirror, this is simply a method of us talking face to face. Like a window. And my name's Naminé, and before you ask, I already know your's, Hiccup." _  
_

Said person blinked again. "Oh, okay. But wait-where am I?"

Naminé's face hardened. "Your at the base of operations for the fae."

He processed the big words in his head for a minute before snapping back. "T-the fae? You mean those dancers I danced with?"

"Yes, you were lured in to a fae circle by their music. It entrances young children, such as you and myself." She nodded her head gravely.

"Y-you were-"

She interrupted him. "I don't have much time to waste. You are currently being held, against you will of course, in _Oblivion._ Soon, with the locket they stole from you-" His hand flew to neck, were it only met smooth leather. "-they'll ask me to do my job."

"Your job?" He asked.

The blonde looked away, something akin to shame on her face. "...When they take you, they often take something of yours and use it's personal matter object to break you. In your case, they'll force me to use my powers. My powers...to wipe away all your memories."

" **What**?" He felt chilled to the bone. To wipe away his...memories of everyone he ever met, the way he loved all of them in his own way, the comfort of being loved in, if only as a toddler.

"I'm sorry," She said, her eyes watering up. "I wouldn't do if I could, but I can't resist them." Something changed with her, wiping her tears away, looking determined. "With the locket they'll give me, with forty-eight hours every single memory will be wiped, and you'll be turned in to a puppet. They'll likely make you into someone's doll or sell you."

Hiccup couldn't breathe, looking down at the girl with terrified eyes. 

"But I won't let that happen." 

His eyes snapped down, widening at their own accord.

"What do mean?" He asked, his voice a little hoarse. 

"I can't do this to anyone anymore, and even if it means worse for me, I can't let anyone else become their puppets!" Naminé's blue eyes were storming, a wave of self-hate and guilt rising like a tidal.

"What about you, will you be okay?" Hiccup dragged himself out of his pit of self-worry and looked at her. Really looked at her.

"I'll be better than what i'm cursed with now." She said simply, a sad smile on her face.

"What do you mean now?" The boy felt like shaking her shoulders. What is she talking about? Does she care about herself at all?

Naminé looked down, the sad smile that made him feel like crying still on. "You're not the only one who is a prisoner here."

A period of silence.

"D-did they take something of yours?"

"They took the only thing I have left. My being."

Now he was thoroughly confused. "Your being?" 

"My actual body. I'm trapped in a haze, never able to leave  _Oblivion._ "

Hiccup looked at his lap, rubbing his hand on his knee to remind himself that, yes, he is still human with all limbs intact, and no, he is not some mindless doll.

"Do..you have an escape plan?" He drew out the words.

Naminé perked up, smiling again at him. "Yes, my friend will release me from my room and we'll come to yours to unlock the door. We'll both guide you through the maze of _Oblivion_ and get you outside. Once there, only he can guide you to the real world. Beyond there, you're on your own."

"He?"

"My friend, number XIII."

"Still confused. And you sure we can trust him?"

She didn't seemed fazed. "He is another prisoner here, but they believe he's under their thumb enough for him not to notice things."

The prisoner leaned forward so she was out of view and rubbed his head from where he could feel a headache stirring. "Still majorly confused."

"When he was first kidnapped, they stole what he was holding dear to his heart and erased his emotions. He can't feel anything. But he's a good actor, so it somewhat normal talking to him."

"O-kay..."

"Just follow the plan, and trust me, alright?" 

 

 


End file.
